April 01, 2014

Imagine We Had No Transaction Receipts...

So, imagine you go to the store, you ask to buy a coffee, there is no cash register, no transaction receipt it given to you, but you are handed the coffee. They don't say anything. You payment is invisible. You don't know how much it will be but you agree to the opaque terms. If you get food poisoning later, it's going to be a huge hassle proving you where there, but it's possible. However, the authorities in charge of checking out food poisoning issues would need some proof. Maybe you threw away the cup, maybe you still have it. Maybe there is video surveillance and maybe not.

No receipt for tax purposes, or proving the cost from the vendor, or your expense report, or documentation about what you purchased.. no warranty or food safety proof, no date or time or place or anything. You just have a cup of coffee.

That's what it's like to go to a vendor online or on your phone, make an account and share some data. You do get something, but you don't really know what you "paid," you have no receipt after you agreed to get the service, and you have nothing from the vendor, other than maybe the confirmation email you received.

Now imagine the opposite:

You go to a digital vendor, you see the service's rating on the crowd sourced or professional review of the way the company will treat your personal data, and you see a comparison of how other similar services would treat your data. You pick one, and "consent" to share your information. A consent receipt is built, that shows you the vendor's TOU and Privacy Policy, the Consumer Report's style rating and comparison, from the consent date, the Date, Time and Jurisdiction you are in, your identifier, you terms such as a DNT signal, and the Jurisdictional requirements for treating personal data and consent. And your receipt is sent to you, and the vendor. Some statistics hit the public website, depersonalized but showing the world how vendors are doing with personal data consents. And you have a tweet that thanks the vendors doing good with your data, and asks the ones doing poorly why they aren't doing better.